Originally posted by bangla_amar
Thanks to some England batters for making it such an exciting match playing some utter ridiculous shot....Bell, pieterson, and jones, oh jones. I really started to dislike this guy, people get surprised when he catches something, once in a while plays good innings but I am pretty sure Reid being a far less competent batsman would have been more productive with his glove work. Isn't that the primary job of w/keeper? Jones completely fails in this department.

I too get frustrated with him. But he is in the side as a batsman/keeper. The England side is structured so the keeper bats at 7, and that keeper has got to make runs. Jones does that and has won us several test matches in the last year with his fantastic partnerships with Flintoff. You have to make good totals to win tests really.

And with the quality of Englands attack, they can afford a slightly less competent keeper because they keep creating chances.

As for the other options, Read doesn't have a good enough technique for a number 7, and Priors keeping is worse.

Jones is the best option. Anyone who heard Flintoffs praise of him in the presentation will know that the England team know something about GoJo we don't.

He didn't play a v.good shot in the run chase here, the pressure got to him like it did to the other England players. But his 85 in te 1st innings went a long way to enabling England to win the match.

My heart has been pounding something ridiculous. These games are not healthy.

Anyway, only a draw needed at Englands favourite ground to win the Ashes

u r really right mate, i was also telling exactly that to one of my buddies that its not heatlhy man, so far it has been the best test series i have ever seen,,simply awesome. even though aussies fought well and few bad decisions went england's way but england really deserve to be 2-1 in this series so far, so let's hope we will have equally great if not better cricket on the 5th test.

Good win by England, though they made heavy weather of it in the end, a win is a win.

They can expect Australia to come out all guns blazing in the last test at the Oval. McGrath is frustrated and would like to make a good impact in his final test on English soil, same with Warne possibly.

If England plays for a draw they may end up losing so they should play aggressively and positively.

Isn't the next Ashes series in 2007 and not 2009 as someone suggested?